For the second consecutive April, I eagerly anticipated the arrival of the latest Civil War, Brigade Series game dealing with the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Last year, Gaines Mill proved to be worth the wait. This year, Seven Pines has shown that it is all that and more. On the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, my war-gaming counterpart, Rob Harvey, and I played the first scenario from the Savage Station module. This scenario looks at the possible larger battle that can occur with a quicker, more aggressive Rebel pursuit of the Union army. Rob took command of the Confederate forces, while I took charge of the Federal forces.

The Rebel army in this battle consists of the 10,700 soldiers of Magruder's Right Wing who start the day in the fortifications just east of Richmond, and the 19,500 soldiers of Jackson's Valley Army who begin north of the Chickahominy. Magruder's Wing consists of his own division plus the divisions of Jones and McLaws. The Valley Army contains the divisions of Whiting and Winder along with D. H. Hill's attached division. Confederate strengths in this battle are solid, flexible army leadership and the operational initiative. The CS disadvantages are the burden of the attack, numerical inferiority, and the fact that Jackson cannot cross the Chickahominy to enter the battle until his men repair one or more of the destroyed bridges over that river.

The Union army has 42,500 available soldiers to use in this rear guard action. Sumner's 2 Corps starts near Fair Oaks with 15,700 men formed in two divisions; 3 Corps commander Heintzelman's two divisions and 16,400 soldiers begin the day near Seven Pines. Smith's 10,400 man division of Franklin's 6 Corps starts the action near Savage Station. The US advantages are excellent division-level leadership, interior lines of communication, and superiority in manpower. On the negative side, the Yankees can only move through initiative (i.e. piecemeal movement at best), and they must protect several widespread road networks. Keeping all this in mind, let me relate how the battle progressed.

Phase I: Contact at Orchard Station

4:00 am -- 9:00 am

Under its initial orders, the Army of Northern Virginia's Right Wing advanced along the Nine Mile Road to make contact with the Union rear guard. At the same time, the Federal 2 and 3 Corps began their retrograde movements. By 5:30 am, Sumner's men had established a line facing west from the Hilliard house to the high ground just east of Orchard Station. At 6:00 am, the 2 Corps artillery opened up on Magruder's division as it cleared the woods near the station. Within thirty minutes, the Rebels were assaulting the Union position with Magruder on the left, McLaws on the right, and Jones in reserve. The Yankees punished McLaws' men. However, a good flanking maneuver by the CS left combined with strong artillery support forced back Dana's brigade. General Sedgwick was also wounded by this fire as he attempted to rally his men.

The Federal line fell back several hundred yards as a result of this attack and prepared for more. Despite their initial success, the Confederates halted their attack and withdrew to a defensive position near Seven Pines to reorganize and prepare for a major push against the Union position after being reinforced by Jackson. In fact, the Valley Army arrived along the Chickahominy at 8:00 am Rob played the odds and spread his units out to attempt to repair four bridges simultaneously. Whiting's division moved to Woodbury's Bridge, Jones' men marched to Alexander's Bridge, and D. H. Hill's soldiers covered both the Grapevine Bridge and the Lower Grapevine Bridge. This movement ended the first phase of operations.

Phase II: Key Decisions and Maneuvers

9:00 am -- 2:00 pm

As the Confederates disappeared from his front, General Sumner took matters into his own hands. Acting on his own initiative, Sumner ordered his corps to move to the road intersection near Jordan's Ford and Fisher's Ford to establish a defensive position facing west that would protect the Federal left flank. At 10:30 am, General Kearny closed the door behind Sumner by moving his division to a blocking position that faced northwest from E34.34 to the 6 Corps left flank near Savage Station.

By 11:00 am, The Union movements were completed. 2 Corps was in the deep left rear near White Oak Swamp, and 3 and 6 Corps were protecting the road network in the vicinity of Savage Station and Antioch Church. After three hours of inactivity other than straggler recovery, Magruder's men advanced at noon to take up a position in the woods just west of Savage Station. From this location, the Rebels kept an eye on the Yankee army while they waited for Jackson's arrival. It was apparent that Rob had a difficult time making this decision. He told me later that he had contemplated moving the Right Wing to secure the key road intersections located on the southern portion of Map E. He decided not to do this, however, because he didn't want to separate his army. He feared that I might attack his forces while they were spread out. More than likely, I wouldn't have done that. In fact, the move he didn't make was the one that I feared the most. In the end, this decision by Rob would be the Ògame breakerÓ. The completion of Magruder's march ended Phase II.

Phase III: The Battle of Savage Station

2:00 pm -- 7:00 pm

At 2:00 pm, D.H. Hill's men repaired the Grapevine Bridge (Rob- ÒFinally!Ó) and immediately moved across it heading for the enemy position. Winder's troops followed close on the heels of Hill's men. Whiting's division remained stuck at Woodbury's Bridge rather than attempt to slog its way across the swampy ground separating it from the rest of Jackson's force. At 3:00 pm, Rob ordered General Magruder's men forward to join Jackson in the attack, but his orders were distorted.

At 3:30 pm, these orders were repeated and accepted just as D.H. Hill struck the 6 Corps along the Meadow Road. After an hour of intense battle, the furious Confederate assault drove Smith's men back along the Richmond and York River Railroad. This withdrawal was made possible by the sacrifice made by a 6 Corps battery. It was captured en masse after firing point blank at Hill's men advancing on it along the high ground north of the railroad. The coordinated Rebel movement on Map F and the time of day convinced me that Rob would not attempt a flanking maneuver on Map E. Not fearing for the left flank's safety anymore, Richardson moved his division west under initiative orders at 4:30 pm to seize the Portuguese Road and White's Tavern intersections.

Meanwhile, the Confederate attack continued unabated. The Valley Army outflanked the Federal right near Meadow Station and pushed the Yankees back. At 5:00 pm, the 6 Corps had had enough, and it experienced a corps defense failure. To help stem the tide of retreating forces and to block any further Southern advance, Kearny took the initiative and moved his division to a defensive position facing north along the Williamsburg Road that tied in with Hooker's right flank. At 5:30 pm, the Army of Northern Virginia consolidated its forces just south of its objective, Savage Station, and prepared to continue the advance. Time was critical at this point.

The 6 Corps was withdrawing and on the verge of collapse if the Confederates could only deliver the coup de grace. More men were on the way, too. Whiting's soldiers had finally repaired Woodbury's Bridge and were moving forward to join the rest of the army.

At 6:00 pm, Magruder accepted orders to attack the Union forces on their right flank, and Jackson accepted orders to attack them on their left flank. Caught between these converging forces and in danger of being destroyed, Franklin ordered his corps back in an emergency retreat that headed across the creek near the Chilbie House and toward the 3 Corps line which had just been established along the Williamsburg Road. The strength of this line and the sinking of the sun in the west ended the Confederate pursuit. The battle of Savage Station was over. The Union forces had been pushed back, but they had not been destroyed. The Yankee rear guard had covered the Army of the Potomac's retreat. If the Confederates had been able to attack sooner, things might have turned out differently.

Results

As the 29th of June ended, the Union army was positioned in three different locations. Richardson's 2 Corps division occupied a position covering the ground between White's Tavern and the Portuguese Road. Sedgwick's division secured the Jordan's Ford and Fisher's Ford crossings. Further to the north, 3 Corps was in a blocking position facing north along the Williamsburg Road with Hooker on the left and Kearny on the right. Smith's 6 Corps division was clustered around this position and in the process of withdrawing behind it. The entire Confederate force was concentrated in front of the Federal 3 Corps with Jones up front on the right and D.H. Hill up front on the left. The tables break down the losses taken by each side.

All of the Union 2 Corps casualties occurred during the early morning action, while the 6 Corps losses were received during the afternoon battle. The 3 Corps was virtually unscathed and in an excellent position to serve as the Army of the Potomac's rear guard.

On the Rebel side, Magruder's men took their losses from both of the day's engagements, while the Valley Army only took casualties in the fighting around Savage Station. Whiting's division did not arrive in time to join the action.

In game terms, the Union forces won a minor victory with -- 8 points broken down as follows: Considering that one less CS casualty would have cost me 3 points, and that failing to seize the intersections on Map E would have cost me between 2 and 9 points for terrain (depending on CS actions), this game could have easily been a draw or a Confederate minor victory.

The game is quick-paced, has the potential for sharp, decisive battles, allows freedom for maneuver, and forces the players to make critical decisions based on incomplete information. It provides an entertaining way to study the dynamics of Civil War command within a day of gaming. Rob and I both enjoyed playing this scenario very much. I am sure that we will play it again, and I am also sure that neither one of us will play it the same way that we did this time. Such is the challenge and excitement of face to face gaming.

See you on the Peninsula!

US Losses
Division	Starting Strength	Casualties	% Lost
1-2 Richardson	7000	700	10.00
2-2 Sedgwick (W)	8700	300	3.45
2-3 Hooker	7500	0	0.00
3-3 Kearny	8100	100	1.23
Cav-3 (Bde)	800	0	0.00
2-6 Smith	9600	1700	17.71
Cav-6 (Bde)	800	0	0.00
Totals:	42500	2800	6.59
CS Losses
Division	Starting Strength	Casualties	% Lost
McLaws	3300	1000	30.30
Jones	3000	500	16.67
Magruder (Repl)	4400	1100	25.00
D.H. Hill	9100	1200	13.19
Winder (J-V)	6800	700	10.29
Whiting	3600	0	0.00
Totals:	30200	4500	14.90

Victory	US Points	CS Points
Losses	8 (45 Cs Losses)	3 (28 Us Losses)
Wrecked Formations	0	0
Terrain	3 **	0
** E45.16, E53.15, and F50.03